1
as in likelihood
the quality or state of being likely to occur
the plot of the movie thriller was exciting and surprising but woefully lacking in probability
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2
as in odds
a measure of how often an event will occur instead of another
the probability of flipping a coin and getting heads 50 times in a row is not good
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Recent Examples of probability
Being…on the main sailing route, in all probability, Maldives was settled by the earliest navigators in the Indian Ocean.
—
Rob Crossan, JSTOR Daily, 17 Jan. 2025
The Earthquake Research Committee has upped its estimate of the probability of such a devastating earthquake happening in an area called the Nankai Trough, an 800-kilometer (about 497-mile) undersea trench that runs roughly parallel to Japan's Pacific coast.
—Michael Gfoeller and David H. Rundell, Newsweek, 16 Jan. 2025
Meanwhile, romance and issues with your kids are loaded with probabilities for power struggles and nasty little arguments.
—Georgia Nicols, The Denver Post, 15 Jan. 2025
The central bank next meets from Jan. 28-29, where markets have priced in a more than 97% probability of a rate hold, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.
—Samantha Subin,hakyung Kim,jenni Reid, CNBC, 14 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for probability 
Rob Crossan, JSTOR Daily, 17 Jan. 2025
The Earthquake Research Committee has upped its estimate of the probability of such a devastating earthquake happening in an area called the Nankai Trough, an 800-kilometer (about 497-mile) undersea trench that runs roughly parallel to Japan's Pacific coast.
—Michael Gfoeller and David H. Rundell, Newsweek, 16 Jan. 2025
Meanwhile, romance and issues with your kids are loaded with probabilities for power struggles and nasty little arguments.
—Georgia Nicols, The Denver Post, 15 Jan. 2025
The central bank next meets from Jan. 28-29, where markets have priced in a more than 97% probability of a rate hold, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.
—Samantha Subin,hakyung Kim,jenni Reid, CNBC, 14 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for probability
Thesaurus Entries Near probability
Cite this Entry
“Probability.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/probability. Accessed 1 Feb. 2025.
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